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August 27, 2006
it feels so late in the day
It feels so late in the day. Maybe it's because I got up at 3:45 this morning, or maybe it's because I'm so tired lately. Or maybe because it's August, which in Florida is the month where you become sure you just can't take it anymore.
I'd hope to return from a 3-week blogging hiatus with a cheery, positive entry, but if I'm gonna blog today - and I swore to myself I was gonna - it won't be so damn cheery. I'm at the point in marathon training where I doubt the training, and I hate the training, and I'm tired all the time and besieged with little aches and pains, and I can't see the point in killing myself to run just a few seconds faster (or slower) than I did this time last year.
Anyway, the past few weeks have gone 80-88-78, and have included some long runs, some road repeats (5x1200, 4x1mile), some hills, some botched/bailed MP stuff, a few amazingly nice runs, and a 5K. Last Sunday we had a freaky break in the weather and a bunch of us ran way faster than usual and then went to breakfast to celebrate our friend Aaron's going off to college. Yesterday I raced my first 5K since last October and ran about 9 seconds off my PR. Sure, my training has nothing to do with 5Ks, but still I thought that with all the running I've done in the past year, I'd somehow magically be faster. So much for magic.
This morning I had a spectacularly bad hill run in with some friends who run much faster than I do (or should). I was supposed to run 18. By 13 I was toast, and by 16.5 Albert ordered, "stop here and I'll get the car" and there was no argument from me. I think he was sick of hearing me breathe so hard. I sat down and got the most exquisite cramp in my right arch.
So I'm still trying not to be negative, but it looks like a hurricane is going to hit us Thursday.
Posted by joe positive at August 27, 2006 1:27 PM
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Comments
You haven't run nearly enough off-road races to have internalized this yet, but even a flat XC course will always be notoriously slow as compared to a road race. Given what past results of this event (e.g., http://www.coolrunning.com/results/05/fl/Aug27_RedMul_set1.shtml) reveal, you can safely convert your 19:47 to a 19:20-19:30 or so, meaning that you ran a PR effort during a 78-mile week in a Florida summer. But the point is that you should get in the habit of basically disregarding times when it comes to XC races and just compete. They're a fun novelty, after all.
Posted by: kemibe at August 27, 2006 2:55 PM
thanks, but the whole race wasn't xc - just a wee bit in the 2nd and 3rd miles, and then from 2.9 to the end. What *was* xc was, well, the millions and millions of xc kids from 3 or 4 counties. I guess this race is sort of a back-to-school fest. It made the start hell (think 300 people on a 10-foot-wide treelined path), but I was lucky enough to have stragglers to run behind even into the 3rd mile; it gave me something to think about, and I even managed to pick off a fader or two.
Anyway, thanks.
Posted by: joe positive at August 27, 2006 3:09 PM
What a bonus! Joe Positive and Kemibe!! Guys watch out for Ernesto... Joe+ve: i was so happy to find your entry. When is this marathon you are running? I am sort of looking forward to you recovering... take care guys, wherever you are...
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at August 28, 2006 5:10 PM
Speaking from experience here....in my most recent marathon train-up (for Vermont City) I ran a 16:4X 5k on a flat course in good conditions during the middle of a high-mileage week. About a month later, in the middle of my 2nd week of taper (read: relaxed running schedule that week) I ran a 16:02 on an equivalent course/conditions. I guess my point is that you might expect 5k magic to happen but it won't happen when you are training through it. Some people can run fast 5ks or other road races in the middle of their marathon training but they are in the minority. If you had ran this thing on tapered legs in decent conditions, you just might have summoned the the 5k PR spirits. Regardless, I'm happy to see that you are posting again.
Posted by: duncan at August 29, 2006 8:23 AM